When Roland Kirk joined his band, Mingus let him write lyrics to it. Don't know what album that was...
I have been listining to A LOT of Mingus lately. Mingus Ah Um is a great album. Fable Of Faubus is a amazing song. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey does a geat cover.
I happen to be listening to Mingus right now...Boogie Stop Shuffle..I think I heard a band called the Disco Biscuits do a really trippy cover.
A Charles Mingus thread and nobody's even mentioned The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady. For shame! Probably the best jazz record I've ever heard.
My favorite Mingus is Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus... a more "stripped down" band than typical for Mingus, which makes appreciating the rhythm section easier. Fire! (It also has a version of "Fables of Faubus" with lyrics... which was vetoed by the record company that put Ah Um out.) Eric Dolphy is just unparalleled. Mingus said Dolphy was his favorite interpretor of his compositions. (I like Black Saint and Ah Um too, though.)
Being a bassist, who can kinda play jazz, I have to like Charles Mingus. My favorite jazz bassist, however, is Niels Henning Ørsted-Petersen. Mingus of course, was no joke, but he was less of a soloist and more of a composer. All I have is Mingus Ah Um and a compilation. I'm looking to get Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus.
